From August 2017 – January 2020, Keith R.A. DeCandido took a weekly look at every live-action movie based on a superhero comic that had been made to date in the Superhero Movie Rewatch. He’s periodically revisited the feature to look back at new releases, as well as a few he missed the first time through.
Malibu Comics was founded in 1986. Originally a publisher of creator-owned black-and-white comics, the company grew (in part by acquiring or merging with other small presses) to the point where they were doing comics in color. The company actually pioneered a lot of the computer coloring that is now standard in the industry, but was cutting edge in the last decade of the previous millennium.
In 1992, several high-profile Marvel artists left the House of Ideas to form their own company, Image Comics. Because Malibu already had an infrastructure, they distributed Image’s titles for the first year of the upstart company’s existence. But once they went off on their own and did their own distribution, the editors at Malibu decided to create their own superhero universe, which was dubbed the Ultraverse. (They were hardly alone in this. Besides Image, Dark Horse and Valiant had created their own superhero lines, plus both Marvel and DC had created secondary superhero universes, the New Universe and Milestone, respectively.)
One of the Ultraverse titles was Night Man by Steve Englehart & Darick Robertson. (Englehart is a veteran comics writer, including several lengthy runs on various Avengers titles, co-creating Shang-Chi, and acclaimed runs on Captain America and The Defenders for Marvel and Detective Comics and Justice League of America for DC. Robertson would go on to work on Transmetropolitan with Warren Ellis and The Boys with Garth Ennis.) The character was created by Englehart & Rich Hoberg in The Strangers, and then spun off into his own series.
In 1994, Marvel bought Malibu. The story at the time was that Marvel wanted Malibu’s coloring process, but that myth has since been busted. Apparently, DC was negotiating to buy Malibu, and Marvel swept in to buy them instead to keep DC’s market share from overtaking Marvel’s.
Which meant that, by the time Glen A. Larson’s TV adaptation of Night Man hit the syndicated airwaves in 1997, it was billed as being based on a Marvel Comic, which was true only on the same technicality that allowed the Men in Black movies to be so billed. A pilot movie was created (which is what we’re discussing here), and it went to series, lasting two seasons in first-run syndication.
Stunt man/model/martial artist Matt McColm was cast as Johnny Domino, who is struck by lightning and gains the ability to hear evil thoughts (he’s “tuned to the frequency of evil,” whatever that means), and also has a super-suit made up of some prototype weapons. He stars alongside Derek Webster as Raleigh Jordan (one of the engineers who made the prototype weapons), Felecia M. Bell as the manager of the night club where Domino plays saxophone, Earl Holliman as Domino’s retired-cop father, Michael Woods as a San Francisco cop who was trained by Domino’s dad, James Karen as the Secretary of Defense, Nicole Nagel and Michael Harney as the primary bad guys, Ric Young as a Chinese gangster, Taylor Dayne as Domino’s love interest, and the great Patrick Macnee seriously slumming as Dr. Walton. This pilot movie also has brief appearances by Brian George as another of the gangsters, Daniel Dae Kim as another of the engineers, and an uncredited David Hasselhoff as a thug.
After the first season, production moved from California to Vancouver, and most of the actors didn’t move north with the production. Only McColm remained, with Jordan recast with Derwin Jordan and the other main characters written out. Notably, comics creator Englehart wrote three episodes of the series (one in the first, two in the second).
“You turned my world upside down, now it’s my turn”
Night Man
Written and produced by Glen A. Larson
Directed by Nick Daniel
Original release date: November 23, 1997
An engineer from a government project has a meeting that he thinks is going to be with Secretary of Defense Laughton. Instead, a limo pulls up containing the secretary’s chief of staff, Krueger. The engineer reassures Krueger that he and his co-workers have the prototypes, and they’re holding onto them until they know for sure that they won’t fall into the hands of America’s enemies.
They stop at the Golden Gate Bridge and Krueger’s flunkies dangle the engineer over the side of the bridge until he reveals who his co-conspirators are (which he does) and where the prototypes are (he doesn’t know). The engineer then asks to be let go now that he’s cooperated, and Krueger has his men let him go—over the railing and into the bay, but only after taking his shoes off and leaving a suicide note in one of the shoes. (The note was a printed-out “transcript” of what the engineer told Krueger, which the engineer was told to sign. The engineer did so without reading it.)
The body is fished out of the bay, with Lieutenant Dann supervising. Dann’s former training officer, the now-retired Frank Dominus, heard about the body on the police scanner, and he found the shoes with the suicide note. Frank thinks it’s odd that someone would print out a suicide note on a computer and sign it, which was a reasonable source of confusion in 1997 but is just hilarious now; Frank also notes that it was signed on a soft surface, which is weird for something that’s been printed, since printers are usually on tables, which is actually a clever observation of a clue. Dann hands the shoes to a lab tech, despite the appalling lack of any kind of chain of custody for the shoes as evidence.
We see both Johnny Domino playing sax and Carla Day singing at a nightclub. Dialogue establishes that Domino and Day used to be an item. Frank comes by the club to see his kid play and to remind him that the offer to teach martial arts at the police academy is still there. But Domino would rather play sax.
Another member of the engineering team, Raleigh Jordan, calls Secretary Laughton, concerned that their colleague was found dead after meeting with the secretary. But Laughton is on a plane flying to San Francisco for the Millennium One conference. At this point, the three remaining engineers don’t know who to trust, but they get an agreement for Jordan to meet with Laughton at the conference.
Krueger and Katrina Weston, vice president of Strand Cybertech (the company with the government contract to develop these weapons) meet with representatives from criminal/terrorist organizations from Europe, Colombia, and China. All of them are interested in the tech (the prototypes of which are in the possession of the four—well, three now—engineers).
Krueger’s pet thugs are doing security at the Millennium One conference for reasons the script never bothers to explain. They see Jordan, but their attempt to take him into custody is spoiled by Laughton.
Part of the festivities is a cable-car ride, with entertainment provided by Domino. On this cable car are Laughton, talking turkey with Jordan, as well as Weston, who exits the cable car but leaves her purse behind. As Domino wails away on the sax, a sudden and very unconvincing rainstorm blows through San Francisco, with lightning striking the cable car and zapping Domino. He can now sense evil thoughts, er, somehow, and knows that there’s a bomb in the purse. He gets everyone to leave the cable car and he throws the purse into the air, where it explodes.
While no one is killed, several people are hurt, including Laughton, who is brought to the hospital. Another engineer, Roland Yates, steals a lab coat and ID and gets into Laughton’s room.
Domino is concerned about his new ability to hear evil thoughts. He goes to the hospital, and speaks with Dr. Walton, who is also there for the Millennium One conference. He is studying the long-since-disgraced notion of extrasensory perception, and putting forth the long-since-disproven theory that we only use ten percent of our brains. He hypothesizes that the lightning strike activated some of that other ninety percent, and that Domino’s attuned to the frequency of evil.
In the hospital, Domino senses the negative intent of Krueger’s thugs, who are going to kill Laughton. Meantime, Yates takes Laughton out of his room to take him to where the prototypes are. However, the two thugs shoot Laughton, then shoot Yates, putting the gun in his hands so he’ll be accused of the killing. (Of course, there’s no gunshot residue on Yates’ hands, so that’s a lousy frame-up…)
Domino arrives at the staircase too late, and he runs off. The two thugs chase him. Domino runs into a room where Day is changing clothes. He makes out with her to make it clear that he’s been doing things other than witnessing a murder, and Walton comes by to alibi him.
Jordan and the other engineer are panicking. The other one goes to the police, but Jordan tries to find Domino, as he must be important, given that he knew about the bomb, was there when Laughton was killed, and is a good-looking white guy, so obviously he can help…
Krueger’s thugs jump Domino, but he gets the jump on them back with a spiffy roundhouse kick through the window of the limo. Jordan arrives to confuse them, and they drive off. Jordan introduces himself and explains what’s going on. He brings Domino to the warehouse where they’re storing the prototypes: a bodysuit that’s bullet-resistant, a cloak of invisibility, an anti-gravity belt, a hologram generator, and an infra-red eyepiece that can also shoot lasers. There’s also a neutron gun, but they don’t have the prototype for that.
Krueger’s thugs show up at the warehouse. Domino and Jordan hide behind the invisibility cloak, then they fly up with the anti-grav belt. They drift over the bay and then the battery runs out, and they fall into the water.
After they swim to shore and dry off, they go to the club, where Domino gets Jordan a job at the club, as his current employment prospects are not great. The Chinese gangster, Chang, says he can take care of Domino, showing off a tarantula he controls. However, they need the prototypes, so Chang instead offers to get them his way.
Day sings a set at the club and then is kidnapped by Chang. She then calls Domino and tells him to bring the prototypes or she dies. He instead puts on the stuff, which all come together as a superhero suit (imagine!) and he is able to rescue Day.
The car that kidnapped Day had diplomatic plates. Frank is able to track it using his cop contacts, and then tails him to a meeting at Strand.
Despite the lack of the other prototypes, they do have the neutron gun, and they promise a demonstration that evening.
Domino and Jordan join Frank. Jordan and Frank tail Chang in Frank’s pickup truck, while Domino tails Weston in his Prowler. However, a government helicopter lands in front of Frank’s pickup, and the two are taken prisoner—though Frank is able to call Domino to tell him what’s happening before he’s taken.
Domino goes to Krueger’s office, and while Krueger doesn’t tell him anything, Domino is able to sense where the neutron gun test will be. Krueger’s people tail him. Domino sets up a hologram of him playing saxophone (where the music comes from is left as an exercise for the viewer). This keeps Krueger’s thug in the club while Domino suits up and heads to the weapons test. He takes out two more of Krueger’s thugs and then finds Jordan and Frank in a cell with bags over their heads. Domino frees them, and puts the two thugs in the cell with bags on their heads.
Krueger and Weston take Chang and the others to the cell to demonstrate the neutron gun on the two guys they think are the prisoners. They both melt, though their clothes are intact. The bad guys are impressed, and they each take weapons with them.
While Krueger is looking for his two thugs, Domino shoves him down a hole filled with poisonous snakes, who bite and kill him. Domino takes the prototype neutron gun.
Chang put bombs in the European and Colombian cars, and they blow up with their weapons. (The lengths people go to just to get an exclusive deal…)
Now armed with the neutron gun, Domino uses the anti-grav belt to fly to Chang’s car and threaten him. Chang’s thugs shoot Domino, and he responds by firing the neutron gun on them, killing them both. He then uses the laser in his mask to melt the weapons case, leaving Chang without his new toys. Then the cops show up, though they can’t do anything to Chang, as he has diplomatic immunity, and there’s no evidence that he did anything illegal.
Domino confronts Weston, but she sics another thug on him. Domino throws him out the window and into the ocean, but it distracts him enough for her to escape.
Domino returns to his apartment, where Day is waiting for him—but so is Weston with the tarantula. However, the creature bites her instead of him for reasons the script never bothers to explain. Day is then shocked to see the dead body in her boyfriend’s apartment, and the two of them talk about their relationship instead of, y’know, calling the police.
The last scene is the pair of them performing a duet.
“You’re in tune to the frequency of evil”
The 1990s were a boom time for television, as the explosion of the first-run syndication market in the wake of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s success and also of cable stations deciding to produce their own original programming.
Unfortunately, the sudden growth meant that there was a lot more work to go around, which meant that the talent pool was diluted somewhat, since there was still a stigma that television acting was lesser than movie acting (a truism that remained until the turn of the millennium).
There are good actors in Night Man. Derek Webster (who was very young when this was made) is one of the better character actors around, and this is a good early role for him. Daniel Dae Kim will go on to bigger and better things, though he’s pretty much Second Dude On The Right here. James Karen and Patrick Macnee were, at this stage, old veterans who could bring dignity to any role no matter how badly written—and these two parts were hilariously badly written.
Unfortunately, the acting kudos end there. Felecia Bell is her usual wooden self. Taylor Dayne does great with the singing part of her role; the acting part, not so much. Earl Holliman and Michael Woods are pictured in the dictionary next to “stiff.” Nicole Nagel and Michael Harney give two of the most charisma-free performances as our primary bad guys, though that’s as nothing compared to the embarrassment of Ric Young’s work as Chang. Young plays Chang as a grinning caricature that’s out of “yellow peril” propaganda films and is just agonizing to watch. (As the only bad guy who survives, Young comes back as Chang toward the end of the first season.)
And then we have our title character. It’s always a challenge when you need someone with the physicality to do an action hero but also need someone who can act. Sometimes you luck out and you get a Jackie Chan or a Michelle Yeoh or a Daniel Wu or a Jason Statham who can genuinely act. But all too often you get Jean-Claude Van Damme or Steven Seagal or Gina Carano or Ernie Reyes Jr. (Or you eschew martial arts skill and you get stuck with Finn Jones screwing up both the acting and the martial arts…)
Sadly, Matt McColm falls into the latter category. He moves well and looks good in a tank top while pretending to play the saxophone, but his acting is stilted and poor, and looks especially bad when he’s standing next to Webster or Macnee. Plus the outfit is incredibly doofy-looking…
But the worst thing about this movie is that the so-called hero of the piece is a mass-murderer.
He kills Krueger and the two thugs in cold blood. (Well, okay, he didn’t actually kill the thugs, but he put them in a position to be killed, which makes him an accessory at least.) He kills Chang’s aides (who, to be fair, shot at him first, but their bullets couldn’t hurt him in the suit). He kills David Hasselhoff. And while he doesn’t directly kill Weston, if I’m the cops, and this guy reports a dead body in his apartment, I know who my prime suspect is gonna be. Especially since the murder weapon (the tarantula) is in a box in the apartment…
The Ultraverse didn’t exactly light the world on fire in the early 1990s. It’s probably the least well-remembered of the wave of new superhero universes from three decades ago (it’s a tossup between it and Dark Horse’s “Comics’ Greatest World”). This particular TV adaptation didn’t, either, and with good reason. I can’t even recommend it as a so-bad-it’s-good thing, because it isn’t the fun kind of bad, it’s just, y’know, awful. You gotta love a movie that bases its entire premise on two thoroughly debunked scientific notions, that of ESP, and that we only use 10% of our brains….
That ends the summer block of the superhero movie rewatch. There are a ton of movies due out before the end of the year, including the already-released Deadpool & Wolverine as well as (at least) Kraven the Hunter, reboots of The Crow and Hellboy, and the sequels Joker: Folie à Deux and Venom: The Last Dance. We’ll start looking at them around December…
